Metal News - Published on Thu, 20 Sep 2018

Business Line reported that Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL), the nation’s sole copper ore producer, plans to increase its mining capacity by about six times, from the current 3.6 million tonnes per annum to 20 million tonnes per annum in six years. The company sold about 36,000 tonnes of copper products in India in FY18, and aims to supply nearly 2 lakh tonnes after the envisaged mines expansion.

Mr Santosh Sharma CMD of HCL said “We have money, resources and support from the government. We are also allowed six years to reach to that level. What else do we need? The only thing we have to do now is to expedite the growth to 12.3 mtpa from 3.6 mtpa and then gradually to 20 mtpa.”

He said “The smelter capacity is not crucial. What is essential is to produce MIC (metal-in-concentrate). Therefore, Hindustan Copper’s current priority is not to install a smelter. In India, smelting capacity is already abundant. Our domestic demand is 6.5 lakh tonnes whereas the installed capacity is 10 lakh tonnes. For the production of the metal, we can easily sell the MIC to those who already have smelters. We will think of installing the smelter when we actually produce more ore. The construction of a smelter takes only one-and-a-half to two years. Whereas expanding the mining capacity takes five-six years. So we will start our smelting business after three years. HCL’s current smelting capacity is 70,000 tonnes per annum (primary- 20,000 tpa, secondary - 50,000 tpa).”